2009 – Page 13 – Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

Alberto Contador is the new Lance Armstrong

The Tour de France is our planet’s most punishing and excruciating sporting event. It spans 23 days—that’s 21 marathons of pedaling and only two days of rest in-between—covering a total distance of 3,445 kms. From the start in Monaco, it traverses through seven mountain stages, six countries that include Spain, Andorra, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland and (of course!) France, and will finish today, the 26th of July, along the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

I’ve been to the Champs-Elysees. The year was 2001 when my wife Jasmin’s father, Jack Villarosa Mendez, brought our whole family on a European sojourn. That Parisian street, one of the world’s most prominent, I recall as a beauty. And, today, as the 170 or so cyclists joining the TDF will pass through that sight, one man will find the Champs-Elysees with the utmost beauty: Alberto Contador.

A Shangri-La for the sun, swim and sports

If you type the word “shangri-la” in the online thesaurus, plenty of words appear. There’s “bliss,” “heaven” and “promised land.” There’s “seventh heaven,” “garden” and “paradise.”

Having recently stayed for two nights at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa, I’d conclude that, yes, those words are accurate. For here we have, in our very own Cebu, one of the most coveted resorts in the entire Philippines and around Asia.

Jasmin, Jana and myself—our family of three Js—booked a Friday noon to Sunday afternoon stay a month ago. School had not started yet and, what perfect way for a getaway. Plus, our top resort had a fantastic promotion: Book for two nights and, as reward, they’ll give the third night… for free.

There’s more. A free P1,000 voucher that’s consumable in any of their several restaurants—Tides, Acqua, Buko Bar & Grill, Cowrie Cove, and Tea of Spring. And here are two more that my 10-year-old daughter, Jana Marie, enjoyed the most: a 15-minute ride on their jet-ski (free!) and a two-hour access to a children’s paradise of stairs and slides called Adventure Zone. Daily buffet breakfast for two (plus two children) at either Tides or Acqua are all included in the package. (For those still interested, this “Local Residents Package,” which started in June 1, lasts until August 31, 2009.)

Tom Watson and Lance Armstrong

Thomas Sturges Watson is a winner of eight Major championships in golf. Lance Edward Armstrong has won the Tour de France a record seven times. Mr. Watson and Mr. Armstrong, in the vast universe called Sports, are two of the most venerated and hallowed names. Together, they are also two of the oldest competitors in their fields of golf and cycling.

Tom Watson, barely a month shy of his 60th birthday, was one of the golfing greats in the 1970s and 1980s. Lance Armstrong, born on September 18, 1971—which makes him 38 years old in six weeks’ time—dominated cycling from 1999 to 2005.

PBA Finals: an astonishing Game 7 statistic

I’ll make an admission: I don’t follow the Philippine Basketball Association like I used to. I’ve watched several out-of-Manila, here-in-Cebu games. Back in the 1980s, I adored Allan Caidic’s three-pointer and reminisce his rivalry against Samboy Lim. Even my dad’s younger brother, Rey Pages, donned the Crispa Redmanizers jersey. And so, yes, I did follow the PBA—but not anymore.

That changed a couple of nights ago when I watched the most awaited finale of the season: Game 7 of the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup Finals between Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer.

I missed the first half and watched starting the third quarter. The game? It was, sad to report, unexciting. After a 13-5 burst in that 3rd quarter, the Beermen—led by an import aptly-named Freeman—took a double-digit lead and never relinquished it. In the end, the former Cebu Gems star, Dondon Hontiveros, and his Men In White were champions, defeating the MVP Jayjay Helterbrand-led Men In Red, 90-79. It marked the 18th time that San Miguel were champions of the PBA.

Love Fifteen

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZo1kOeHB40&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

CERC runs the Milo 42K Marathon

(Thanks to Meyrick Jacalan for all the photos.)

Congratulations to the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC). During the 33rd Milo Marathon in Manila last July 5, nearly a dozen runners joined the 42-km. marathon. The star of the Cebu squad was Harthy Satina, who finished his third marathon with a Personal Best (PB) time of three hours, 52 minutes. Having narrowly missed “sub-4” (under four hours) in the Singapore Marathon last December (Harthy succumbed to cramps 200 meters from the finish line and finished 4:09), this time Harthy ran pain-free and led all Cebu runners.

Dr. Vic Verallo, with minimal training because of an injury, came in next at 4:50, followed by Roger Cuenco, Jesse Taborada, Kenneth Casquejo, Roy and Dr. Rosan Trani, Joel Garganera, Jun Remo, Dr. Albert Santos and Serge Amora, among others. Meyrick and Perl Jacalan also ran with the group.

Dr. Vic Verallo, Harthy Satina and Meyrick Jacalan

Dr. Rosan and Roy Trani

In golf, Montito Garcia has no par

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Montito (left) with Jovi Neri (Photo by Frederic Chiongbian)

Like Lance Armstrong, he’s a veteran, an old-timer, and one of the oldest—if not the oldest—of the field and so he’s not supposed to win. Or dominate. Yet, there he was, winning his eighth Cebu Country Club (CCC) championship—a feat unmatched since the 52-hectare golf course was established in 1928.

To those who follow the sport and who swing and putt at the 6,481-yard, par-71 CCC, this you know: This is old news. That’s right. In fact, nearly a month-and-a-half has passed since Montito Garcia won the CCC Men’s Club Championships on May 30, 2009. But, “better late than never,” the old saying goes and so, here goes my Q & A with the champ…

Amazing goal

I don’t follow soccer like Sun.Star Cebu sports editor Mike Limpag and Sun.Star columnist Noel Villaflor do, but when I saw this video in the blog of Manila-based writer Rick Olivares (Bleacher’s Brew), I couldn’t help but watch in amazement. If only Zidane did the same in the 2006 World Cup….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaQhF-523As&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Will Armstrong win an 8th Tour de Lance?

Tracing back history, we will find that the oldest man to have won the most famous pedaling race on earth is Firmin Lambot. In 1922, the Belgian was 36 years old. Studying today’s 96th staging of “Le Tour,” we see 180 cyclists joining. The oldest competitor is a 40-year-old Spaniard named Inigo Cuesta. The second oldest?

Lance Armstrong, who turns 38 this September. In a sport where youthfulness and freshness of legs are necessary to climb the Pyrenees and brave Mt. Ventoux and sprint through Individual Time Trials, Mr. Armstrong is a grandfather. He’s an elderly, a senior, an age-old veteran.

Consider Alberto Contador, the man tipped by pollsters to win this season. Contador is only 26. That makes him 11 Julys younger—and fresher and, yes, possibly stronger and more vigorous—than the elderly. But Lance Armstrong is Mr. Strong Arm.

No doubt, the greatest ever in tennis

Roger Federer’s favorite color is gold. His large bag glitters that color. If you examine his tennis shoes, gold is laced all around them. Same with his T-shirt and its trimmings, including the Nike swoosh and the inscription, “RF.” More so with his pre-match jacket and long pants. All trimmed with gold.

Fittingly, when the Wimbledon finale that needed more games than any other Grand Slam final was over, he carried on his fingers the trophy that glimmered with one color: Gold.

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(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)